Engine Related But Not Fiat- Expertise Needed

[dsnyder]

Long and short of it, my 2001 Ford F150 with a 5.4V8 blew a spark plug right out of the head the other day. I wasn't to worried because I purchased an extended mileage warranty on it that covers the powertrain up to 200,000 miles. Had it towed to the Dealership, they called the warranty company and the warranty company says that it is not covered.

Here is my question- The threads in the head failed (this motor is known for this). In my warranty, it states that heads are covered "if damaged as a result of a mechanical failure of an internally lubricated part." The company says that the head is what failed and the head itself is not an internally lubricated part and thus... no coverage. If a part of the head that is lubricated failed... for example a rocker arm bearing, valve, etc... then there is coverage.

To me this seems like a scam but I'm not sure how to even argue this with some authority above the warranty company- Better Business, Small Claims court... whatever.

Is there any standard definition of "internally lubricated part"?

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks guys!!! (My Fiat is running great)!

[SLOSpider]

Without reading your policy completely its hard to know if you got a real case. I have years of experience with these types of warranty companies and most are not worth a crap. I had one reject a claim because the ring gear bolts had started to break apart. They said while the rearend is covered its the bolts that broke and they dont cover nuts and bolts. I went to bat with them for the customer and had arranged for an independent review of the claim from an outside choice of mine that the company agreed to. It was found that the bolts WERE part of the rearend so the repair should be covered which it was.

You need to fight a bit more with the company, like any insurance there first words they learn as children are always NO. Also start to file a claim with the BBB and insurance regulatory in your state. Also you want to make sure there are no RECALLS on this problem and contact FORD direct with your concerns for their product. If you are the original owner this goes a long ways. Just dont give in and exhaust all your resources first.

There are repair kits for this type of problem and should not cost more than a few hundred dollars to repair depending on which cylinder its on it can be done on the car.

You may also want to inquire on getting your money back on that so called warranty.
Good Luck.

[amsiegel]

This where the saying the squiky wheel gets the grease.

I have been in a situation like this before. The first customer service person can only say yes to certain things. You can ask to talk to there supervisor and see what happens. Customer serivce these days blows and can be very frustating.

My suggestion is jump there chain of command and start from the top down. If you take the time and do a search there is a good chance that you can find the boardof directors e-mail addresses or at least there regular mail addresses. Write everyone you can find does not matter what department they are in. If its e-mail or regular mail ensure somewhere in the letter you list everyone you mailed via CC:. Eventually the letter will get to the right person and if they notice that one of the big wigs also got the letter they will usually get the to work fixing the problem. Most people do not want to take the time to contact the people in charge. When you do things usually get taken care off. One of my past supervisor from when I worked retail would say. If you do a good job for a customer they might tell someone about it. If you piss off a customer they will tell everyone about it.

My story:
I will try to be short. I bought appliances from a larger national store. When they arrived one of the pieces of equipment not only did not work but sounded like it was going to explod. This was 5 mins after the delivery guys left. I called the local store and told them the problem they wanted me to make a arrange a time for the next day for them to come back and get it and then set up another appointment to have a replacment one dropped off. Now because we have no idea other than a 4 hour window when the delivery guys will show up and just took a day off to get the appliances and spent a large chunk of money on them I was a bit pissed. When I got disconnected for the 3rd time from customer service and after each time explain for 10 mins what the problem was I was fed up. I found the old e-mail from when I had a tire problem from the same company and sent the board of directors a new e-mail explain the BS I had been dealing with for the last 3 hours. Then I drove to the store I bought the items from and ytied to talk to the store manager about it. I was at the point of telling the manager here is my receipt and either we take one of your vans and pick up the items now or your delivery guys will find them in the front yard when they come for them the next day, my cell phone rang.

It was a guy from their HQ wanting to help me with my problem. After a 30 min conversation I had ungraded appliances deliverd the next day first thing in the morning and a $100.00 gift card.

[baltobernie]

I purchased an extended mileage warranty on it that covers the powertrain up to 200,000 miles...

Is this "extended warranty" from Ford, or a third-party? Most warranties not issued by the manufacturer aren't worth the paper they're printed on. The giveaway is when they describe what they do cover. A good warranty states what they don't. If you've got a Ford warranty, you've got a whole chain of command you can escalate.

Maybe your state consumer protection law gives you some help. What you're looking for is something that makes the selling dealer, not some out-of-state company, accountable. Phone your state attorney-general's office and ask this question.

[BEEK]

bring it to florida i have a special kit for rethreading, helicoil thread replacement , what cylinder? its made for the ford, ive done many in chassis! good luck

[So Cal Mark]

that's been my experience with 3rd party warranty companies also, it's all in how the policy is worded.
There are kits out there to make that a permanent repair. I recently purchased one from Snap On and repaired a V10 with it that had blown out the helicoils another shop had installed.

[jimincalif]

Years ago I had a client who made a lot of money - he sold 3rd party extended warranties that were then resold by dealers. Told me the actuarial reserve for repair expense on the contracts was about 15% of the price. Rest was just mark up and profit. One of those bits of information I filed away and retrieve every time someone wants to sell me one.

[So Cal Mark]

I had a rep from one of those companies tell me that they would never pay out for repairs that would cost more than the contract. So the best you could do was get your money back, if you were lucky enough to have your car breakdown

[BEEK]

LET ME CORRECT MYSELF, MY KIT IS FROM SNAP ON NOT A HELICOIL BRAND, IT PUTS IN A SOLID INSERT

[So Cal Mark]

the Snap On kit is a permanent repair, glad to hear that's what you're using!

[dsnyder]

Thanks for all the responses- To answer the questions:

It is not sold through Ford- The company is Dealers Alliance Corporation out of Ohio.

The specific wording of the contract:

COVERED COMPONENTS INCLUDE:
ENGINE –
All internally Lubricated Parts of the engine, including but not limited to: pistons, piston rings, piston pins, crankshaft and main bearings, connecting rods and rod bearings, camshaft bearings, timing chain and timing gears, intake and exhaust valves, valve springs, oil pump, push rods, rocker arms, hydraulic lifters, rocker arm shafts. The Engine Block and Cylinder Heads are also covered (if damaged as a result of a mechanical Failure to an internally Lubricated Part). The water pump is also covered. No other engine parts are included under this Service Contract.
TRANSMISSION / TRANSFERCASE* –
All internally Lubricated Parts of the manual or automatic transmission and transfer case including but not limited to: torque converter, oil pump, drum, planetaries, sun gear, shell, shafts, bearings, shift rails, forks and synchronizers. Damage resulting from failures by related parts or units such as but not limited to: levers, controls, linkages, cables, radiator, coolers, rubber mounts, external oil lines, viscous couplings, drive axles/bearings and electronic components, internal or external, to the engine and transmission are not covered. Note: Differential Failures of any kind are non-eligible for coverage under this Service Contract.
*SURCHARGE APPLIES
1. ELIGIBILITY:
All Covered Vehicle Components must be factory installed by the Vehicle OEM manufacturer. Modifications of any kind to the Vehicle will void this Service Contract. Prior repair or replacement of such Components must have been completed by an ASE Certified Mechanic (documentation will be required). Pre-Existing conditions are not-covered under any circumstances.

[SLOSpider]

While you might not have much luck with that warranty company you may have some luck with Ford directly. Have you tried to run your VIN for any recalls with the Ford dealer? Are you the original owner?

[dsnyder]

Yes- I am the original owner. Ford has not yet done a recall on these bad heads. There is a lot of talk on the internet about class action suits against Ford and some cases where they've lost on small claims court.

I like the idea of an independent evaluation of warranty coverage... I wonder how I request that?

[SLOSpider]

To have an independent evaluation you need to speak with the higher ups at the warranty company. I think your best bet is to contact Ford directly...their headquarters not the dealer and tell them you are the original owner always buy Fords, cant believe this is happing blah blah blah and work with them. In most cases I have seen the customer is offered to at least split the repair bill with a dealer. Worst they can say is no.

[Zmatt]

Man that stinks, you will be lucky if you get anything out of that warranty company. Man rule: never buy the extended warranty on anything.